The present invention is generally directed to a rack for supporting and displaying a bicycle in a retail establishment.
In retail outlets, it is important, in terms of sales, to display merchandise being sold. It is also important that the merchandise be accessible for close examination and self-service if a decision is made by the customer to purchase the item. For relatively large and difficult to handle items, such as bicycles, proper display and accessibility is difficult to achieve without committing a great deal of floor space for the item. In order to maximize the use of floor space, racks are employed to support and stack the bicycles at different levels. This enables the bicycles to be well displayed, but the bicycles are not necessarily accessible. Since there are so many makes, sizes, and styles of bicycles, it is important for a customer to be able to handle and examine the bicycle. It is difficult and awkward for a customer or a sales clerk to remove a bicycle from its support, particularly if the bicycle is at a high level. The stacked bicycles also represent a potential hazard, unless great care is used by the customer in removing the bicycle from its support. The customer can be injured when removing a single bicycle. If the entire bicycle supporting structure is unstable, an attempt by the customer to remove one bicycle from the structure could cause several bicycles to fall from their supports, thus creating a serious hazard to customers, sales persons and anyone else in the immediate vicinity of the bicycle display area. Even if the bicycle supporting structure is relatively stable, a customer may be reluctant to remove a bicycle from its support if it appears that the removal of the bicycle would be difficult, or inconvenient. As a result, a customer is unlikely to purchase a bicycle without being able to examine the bicycle closely. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art coating systems have been obviated by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a bicycle display rack which enables a plurality of bicycles to be well displayed in a relatively small area.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bicycle display rack which supports a bicycle in a very secure and stable manner.
A further object of the invention is to provide a bicycle display rack which enables the bicycle to be removed easily and conveniently from the rack for close inspection by a customer, and easily and conveniently replaced in the rack.